The Money Link

Our Wounded Democracy

One thread running through all our work is the anti-democratic activity of energy corporations. Duke Energy consistently uses deceptive public relations – and millions of ratepayer dollars – to distort the debate over important decisions. We must face this “inconvenient truth” in order to make the shift to clean, safe energy. Below are a few reflections of the influence that has, in the words of Dr. Jim Hansen, wounded our democracy.

Particularly egregious are the Construction Work in Progress) laws (CWIP) that allow utilities to charge customers in advance for building expensive new plants that aren’t even needed — even if those plants never go online. It goes by many names: CWIP = Advanced Cost Recovery = Advance Fee (in Florida) = Annual Rate Hike Bill (in NC) = customers get screwed (no matter where you live).

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Rather than owning the mistake, McCrory issued a defensive statement and said he broke no rules. In May, a spokesman pointed to the now-discredited disclosure report and said it “eliminates the often repeated, ridiculous and false, partisan left-wing attacks challenging the intent of our decisions and policies.” That reminds one of Hillary Clinton dismissing probes into her husband as just a “vast right-wing conspiracy.”

On Thursday, Duke Energy Florida (formerly Progress Energy) announced that the company would pull the plug on its future Levy Co. nuclear plant. And the money the company has been collecting from customers for years — and will continue to collect until 2018 — will go toward Duke Energy’s expenses and profits.

In February, Governor Pat McCrory filled out a 2012 statement of economic interest that shows he has a meaningful financial stake in Duke Energy worth at least $10,000. The form did not require him to be more specific.

Following a Facing South report that found North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) holds significant amounts of Duke Energy stock, a watchdog group sent him a letter asking him to disclose its exact value — and reiterated its call that he therefore recuse himself from appointing anyone to the state Utilities Commission.

This is a critical moment for North Carolina’s energy future, as a packed public hearing held in Raleigh this week showed — and there are growing concerns that the politician who might get to make key decisions about it has significant conflicts of interest.

Today NC WARN sent a second letter to Governor McCrory, following up on the letter we and AARP NC sent on January 4. We are calling on him to oppose Senate Bill 10 and to recuse himself from appointments to the NC Utilities Commission.